Regarding resurrection, are the firstfruits mentioned in I Corinthians the
same as the 144,000 in Revelation? What is
meant by the phrase ‘every man in his own order?’
1 Corinthians 15:23
But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Revelation 14:1, 3, 4
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion,
and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's
name written in their foreheads.
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne,
and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song
but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the
earth.
These are they which were not defiled with women; for
they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to
the Lamb.
Paul keeps the firstfruits in 1
Corinthians 15 in the context of our dispensation. But, the firstfruits
principle applies to both his coming (aka appearing [2 Timothy 4:1]) for the body of Christ at the rapture, and his Second Coming to Israel.
Paul uses that word ‘come’
to refer to the Lord’s return for his Body at the Rapture.
1 Corinthians 1:7; 11:26
So that ye come behind in no
gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
For as often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
1 Thessalonians 3:13; 5:23
To the end he may stablish
your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
And the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:1
Now we beseech you,
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him,
So Paul uses the term ‘the
coming of our Lord’ to describe the Rapture. In the direct context this is what I Corinthians
15:23 is referring to. But the same
principle will be applied to the Second Coming to Israel.
Regarding
the phrase ‘every man in his own order,’ notice that the colon follows
‘order.’ He is giving the order of the
resurrection. He was the first one to be
raised from the dead (never to die again).
1 Corinthians 15:23
But every man in his own
order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at
his coming.
He’s
talking about our resurrected bodies.
Christ got his first; then we all get ours – the dead in Christ first
(those who were already dead at the time of the Rapture), then those of us who
are alive and remain.
1 Thessalonians 4:15
For this we say unto you by
the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming
of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Unless
he is specifically talking about the future as in 2 Thessalonians, Paul is
talking about things pertaining to the body of Christ, even though the same
principle applies to the Lord’s second coming to Israel. There are some similarities between the two
programs—these would be inter-dispensational
principles).
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Let no man deceive you by
any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
Paul
also talks about the firstfruits of the Spirit.
Romans 8:23
And not only they, but
ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body.
One
of the reasons God gave us his Spirit is to be the earnest of our inheritance:
Ephesians 1:14
Which is the earnest of
our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of his glory.
He
is like a down payment – earnest money.
The Holy Spirit is the earnest
money, guaranteeing that we will receive our physical bodies that will be
changed to be incorruptible and immortal like the Lord’s:
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Behold, I shew you a
mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
And
he is our guarantee of our inheritance in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 1:14
Which is the earnest of
our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of his glory.
Christ
got his new body already, we get ours at his coming (the Rapture); even Israel
will get their new bodies in the Kingdom when he comes back the second time for
them.
So
the whole context and point of 1 Corinthians 15 is the resurrection of the physical
body at the Rapture even though the description will apply to Israel at the
second coming.
Look
at verse 26:
1 Corinthians 15:26, 55
The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death.
O death, where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
At
the Rapture, physical death will be a thing of the past for the Body of
Christ. No member of the body of Christ
will die again. That’s not true for
Israel. Death (of humans) won’t be
destroyed in the prophetic Kingdom program until the end of the 1,000 year
reign of Christ.
Revelation 20:12-14
And I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was
opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up
the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death.
Hopefully this helps!
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